My deepest regret,

Contradiction:  In classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more propositions.

I am beginning to see how the academic setting breeds a feeling of contradiction on the minds of our nation’s future citizens.  Reader I am going to try to make an argument about the tacit expectation of the citizenry that compose the academic community and how the academic setting creates “norms” that viciously alienates and segregates those of the minority.

In other words, the academic community operates under particular “norms” that breed expectations on the students, who are not of the majority but long to be included in the fold of academia. You see readers, I am a graduate student nearing the end of my course work, and I have observed particular “norms” that educators do not disclose to their students.

For example, the academic world is centered on publication, so educators must build a critical often hyper critical ethos so as to come off as “better” or more “true” in their writing. Because academia is competitive and its environment harbors those emotions tied to competition. So even though graduate students and undergraduate students may not be a “true” competitor in the academic world, educators still mold them in ways that they see fit.  By mold I mean, educators impose their ideas of “truth” about the competitive nature of academia on the students hence influencing their words on papers, assignments, and future projects.

In other words, if educators choose to ignore the competitive nature of the academic world tied to publication in classroom assignments than students will never learn about the power structures that operate both socially, politically, historically, and culturally inherent in the academic space.

Now understand that I am in no shape or form trying to say that educators’ teaching methods are wrong, but I am saying that educators cannot continue to talk about their course materials, discussions, and assignments are “natural” and operate under a “neutral zone.” In reality, the academic sphere and the way it operates will never truly disclose the “truth” about its foundation, so students will continue to not successfully navigating their believes and arguments competativily and their realities will never be realized by the academic space.

For women, the academic world places double standards that is numbing as they continue to practice in the sphere. While other refuse to acknowledge such inequalities and wave the flag of liberation and equality.  I’ll air out the dirty laundry…I have an academic responsibility to paint the academy just the same color it longs to be “white” a bland neutral color that claims equality and justice for all.